PINEHURST, N.C. – Yealimi Noh fielded questions after Thursday’s round while indulging on a packet of M&Ms. (And yes, she offered to share.) There are bowlfuls of Halloween candy in the scoring tents at Q-Series and Noh saved her orange skirt for occasion.
While no players dressed up for golf’s most serious event, Haley Moore’s dad, Tom, stole the show with a Mr. Incredible costume. Haley and her brother Tyler insisted that their father get the costume after watching “The Incredibles” movie for the first time. There is a striking similarly between Tom and the cartoon’s super dad.
Michele Moore ultimately found the costume at Target, and Tom hopped out of the bushes last year at the East Lake Cup to surprise Haley as the Arizona van rolled into the parking lot on Halloween.
“I don’t know what else he can do to embarrass me,” said Haley with a grin.
Tom surprised Haley earlier in the week by merely showing up to Q-Series from California. It was a no-brainer that the costume would come, too. The Moore family is staying at a friend’s house on Pinehurst No. 3, and they expect several dozen kids to come around trick-or-treating Thursday night. Mr. Incredible will be armed with sweets.
SCORES: LPGA Q-school leaderboard
Haley dropped to 3 under for tournament, currently T-22, after a second-round 74 on a gusty day on Pinehurst No. 9.
Muni He continues to lead the field at 18-under 410 after carding a 70 in the sixth round. There are two rounds left in the tournament and the top 45 and ties will earn LPGA cards for the 2020 season.
Noh, who contented on the LPGA several times this year as a non-member, is in solo third. She bounced back after an opening double-bogey to shoot 69.
“I’ve been working all year,” said Noh, “and this is probably the hardest like year/month I’ve had ever in golf. I mean, I was a junior last year, so it was pretty easy then just playing tournaments for fun and stuff. This year was really tough for me just outside of golf and in golf. I learned a lot. I know where my game is at now, so I think I really deserve a break.”
Noh, 18, plans to head to South Korea after Q-Series for training purposes and to relax.
Amateurs Jennifer Chang (68) and Albane Valenzuela (69) continue to cruise. Both currently sit in the top 10. USC’s Chang plans to turn professional after this week. Valenzuela is taking a wait-and-see approach in regards to her final semester at Stanford. One thing is certain: the schoolwork isn’t going away.
“I’m supposed to have a midterm today,” she said. “I don’t know how that’s going to go. We’ll see. But just trying to do as much as I can and focus on school, golf, and relax as much as possible.”
Valenzuela’s teammate, Andrea Lee, fell down the board a bit after carding a 74.
South Korea’s Haeji Kang carded the low round of the morning wave, 7-under 65, to move into a share of sixth.
